Mercedes Jones: Life after Kurt
by peut-etre-poulet
Summary: SPOILERS: PROM-ASAURUS - Kurcedes; Three times Kurt chose Rachel over Mercedes and one time he didn't.


**Title::..**Mercedes Jones: Life after Kurt

**Rating::..**G

**Spoilers::..**_Prom-asaurus_

**Genre::..**Drama

**Characters::..**Mercedes Jones, Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry

**Pairing::..**Mild Klaine

**Author's Note::..**This fic was requested by a very sweet reader, who goes by the username SweetieBird. They requested I write a Kurcedes fic regarding the way their friendship fell apart around the middle of the second season. Warning to all Rachel Berry fans, I would suggest that you don't read this, I'm really not kind to Rachel in this fic, I'm just taking out all my frustration over the break-down of my original Fag and Hag pairing, so this is strictly for Mercedes and Kurcedes fans.

**Summary::..**Three times Kurt chose Rachel over Mercedes and one time he didn't.

* * *

When Mercedes looked at all of the changes in the glee club in only one year it made her head spin. Quinn had still been knocked up. Mike had hardly ever spoken to any of them. Artie had been a virgin who could only dream of getting a shot at a blonde cheerleader. Brittany remained as dumb as she had been last year and Santana was just as bitchy. Overall the New Directions had undergone a lot of alterations.

Especially Mercedes. This time last year she had been preparing for her very first public solo. No one had argued with her, no one wanted to take the amazing opportunity away from her. But she didn't miss the solo as much as she missed Kurt. Having Lauren in his spot was as disrespectful as bringing her in to dance on his grave.

Kurt had left McKinley High not so long ago, but already he was disappearing from her life. The daily text messaging had stopped. The photo of them together had been replaced, losing its spot as his Facebook profile picture.

He was settling in to his new life at Dalton. She knew she should be happy for him. His last weeks at McKinley had been hell, she couldn't imagine going through all of that. Now he was being given a fresh start. He was safe at Dalton; she was glad he didn't have to hide who he was anymore. There were even romantic possibilities at the all-boys school. Everything was turning around for him and she should be pleased for him.

But she could only feel forgotten. He had gone off and left her at McKinley, without so much as a parting hug. She missed him; she wanted their amazing friendship back. She longed for the days of making up silly handshakes and three-hour long phone calls.

She wasn't too upset over missing out on a solo for Sectionals this year. There was something much more exciting waiting for her at the venue.

She couldn't wait to see Kurt. She was a little nervous of how great The Warblers were going to be, the addition of her supremely talented friend would make them all the more difficult to defeat. But she didn't think losing to him would be _so _bad.

All of her hopes were dashed when Kurt blew her off before the performances were due to start. She thought they could catch up, chat and take their minds off of the pressures of the competition. But Kurt drove another nail into the coffin, claiming he couldn't make it, he had to do vocal warm-ups with the rest of The Warblers. It seemed to be a legitimate story to her. She returned her phone to her pocket, hoping they would meet up before the end of the day.

There was an hour remaining before the curtain went up as Mercedes left the rest of her team behind in search of refreshments. Her mouth was as dry as a desert. She may not have a solo this time around, but there were a few important moments for her during the second song. She couldn't embarrass herself and the group by sounding less than perfect.

She managed to find the bar on her own. As she began to approach the need for a bottle of water was driven entirely out of her mind. She wasn't the only member of New Directions to venture beyond the green room. Rachel Berry had taken up a stool next to the counter. It was who she was sitting with that caught Mercedes' attention.

Kurt's vocal exercises with The Warblers hadn't taken up as much time as he had first thought. He had left, needing to take a breath, a pause for himself. He had drifted down to the bar, stumbling upon Rachel Berry. They were chatting, getting along better than ever.

Mercedes felt like an idiot for believing the lie. Tears stung her eyes and her chest felt suddenly tight. She wondered how many times Kurt had to turn her down before she got the hint. He didn't want to be friends with her anymore, but as opposed to giving it to her straight; he was trying to let her down gently. It still hurt just as much. She was a fool, she had been holding onto their friendship while he had already let it go. She should have realized this earlier, but she had been too blind.

She became very angry at Rachel. What did Rachel have that Mercedes didn't? Rachel didn't know Kurt half as well as Mercedes did. Kurt and Mercedes had been through so much together while Rachel hadn't even been around; she had been too busy chasing Finn instead. This was worse than the window-smashing incident to follow Kurt rejecting Mercedes' feelings in favour of a fictitious crush on Rachel. What made her so special? Why was she more worthy of Kurt's companionship than Mercedes?

Kurt had made his decision and now it was time for Mercedes to move on with her life. She turned and stormed back off to the holding room, forgetting about the bottle of water. She thought she would deeply enjoy helping the New Directions to crush the rich boys who made up The Warblers.

* * *

Mercedes was the first girl to awaken in the fancy New York hotel room. She didn't move immediately, the bed was too comfortable for her to entertain the thought of ever leaving it. She resettled her head on the pillow and dozed for a while. Whenever she stirred she was ecstatic to find the luxurious suite was still tangible all around her, it wasn't a dream. They had really made it to New York.

It was bliss being here. She thought all the problems they had faced no longer mattered. The petty arguments of the past had been erased by the power of this magical city. Nothing could go wrong while they were here.

She was roused again when she heard the door open. She opened her eyes slightly and glanced across the room. It was Kurt. He was wearing a classic black suit and his hair was done to perfection. Mercedes didn't move, silently watching his progress. He crept across the floor, looking like a cat bugler from an old black-and-white movie. It was quite an amusing display to witness.

Mercedes figured she shouldn't be surprised by him making a beeline to where Rachel was still passed out, her mouth open and a trickle of drool running down her cheek. Kurt placed himself on the bed with her and they started whispering. Mercedes shut her eyes again; her perfect New York morning was officially ruined. She tried to block out their chattering, her annoyance rising.

Not too much later Rachel was pulling on a dress. She collected her shoes, purse and then she was leaving the suite behind Kurt. He closed the door as they escaped.

Mercedes rolled onto her back with a frustrated huff. She felt certain that even if she had been sitting up they wouldn't have invited her along to their little adventure. If she wanted to explore New York she would have to go with her other friends. She waited for Tina and Santana to wake up.

* * *

Mercedes was looking forward to Prom immensely this year. It was her Senior Prom, she couldn't imagine a more perfect night. She wasn't going to be escorted by a sympathy date this year. There would be no depressing thrift store dress; she had saved up all year so she could look amazing. She was never going to forget it.

This was the beginning of the end of her time at high school. After Prom they would be setting off for Nationals and not much later after that they would be receiving their diplomas. She felt like she had spent most of her life wanting to escape school. Now it was all coming to a sudden end.

Prom was their last night together. She couldn't wait to spend an amazing night partying with her friends. It was their chance to get really dressed up, party together and make the most of the fleeting time they had left with each other. Mercedes couldn't care less about who was crowned Queen or the fact that she was going alone. She just wanted to have fun with her friends, nothing else mattered.

The Rachel and Kurt Show continued with the pair announcing they would not be attending the important event. Blaine was pulled along on another of their crazy plans. Rachel laid out a whole story in front of the assembled glee club. To Mercedes it sounded like a bitch-fest because the divas were tired of being ignored. Mercedes hadn't been picked to sing at Prom either, but she wasn't going to throw a tantrum and pout in some hotel room because of it. It was their senior year and yet Rachel hadn't grown up in the slightest.

The idea reeked of Rachel's love for drama. But Kurt was going along with it, which made him just as bad as Rachel. Mercedes couldn't believe how much he had changed and she felt a little like she had dodged a bullet.

No one showed much interest in the Anti-Prom Party. It sounded lame. Once again Rachel's attempts to draw attention to herself had failed. No one cared. Mercedes didn't think it would be any fun sitting in a room with Rachel's over-inflated ego and Kurt, who had seemingly become as self-obsessed. She would much rather go all-out with her friends for one last night.

With Rachel's announcement officially over Mercedes returned to her conversation with Artie. She was trying to talk him out of performing a One Direction song at the Prom. That boy band mania-crap was everywhere she looked lately; did it really have to infect her Senior Prom as well? With Mike already working on the choreography for the number it seemed she wasn't going to win this battle.

It was going to be a low point of the night. But withstanding on sugar-soaked song would be easier than putting up Rachel and Kurt's ridiculous Anti-Prom hissy-fit.

* * *

Mercedes was half-convinced that she would never see her yearbook again. She had handed it off to Santana at the end of another glee club meeting. She had expected her old Troubletones sister to write a long dedication and so had allowed the cheerleader to carry it away with her to her next class.

Then when it came time for the pair to meet up in geography the book had been missing from Santana's bag. She had given it to Tina. Great, Mercedes prepared herself for the lovely glossy book to now appear as if it had been on ground zero when Hurricane Katrina had touched down. Tina _never _stopped crying lately.

But by the time Mercedes reached Tina she no longer had the book. She passed the book to Finn, she explained, only just managing to hold the tears back. Before Tina could turn into a waterfall again, Mercedes left for her history class. She put the book out of her mind.

The second last day of school had reached its end. Mercedes collected her handbag from her otherwise empty locker. She didn't have time to chase the book around half the school anymore. She needed to go home and find the lost books the library wanted back. The glee club would assemble for the last time in the choir room tomorrow; Mercedes could only hope the yearbook would be returned to her then. She prayed that wherever the book was it was being filled with wonderful memories.

She felt suddenly sad as she shut her locker. Part of her didn't want to leave McKinley. She was excited to go and record in Los Angeles. But she wasn't sure how the recording studio would compare to rocking out in the choir room with her friends. She was going to miss the auditorium – her mind played a cheesy movie-style montage of all the numbers she had taken part in on that stage.

She took her time walking down the hallway; she was in no rush to reach her car. She looked at all of the other students, smiling at those who met her glance. She didn't know many of their names, but it felt good to be among them.

She was approaching where Kurt stood at his own locker. It was strange to see him alone. Where was Rachel? Or at the very least Blaine. Mercedes didn't look away. It hardly hurt at all to see him these days. She was impressed by her own growth. She wasn't a pouty, irrational school-girl anymore, she no longer felt any urgers to throw bricks through windows.

"See you tomorrow Kurt." She said.

He instantly looked up, his Bambi-eyes widening. "Mercedes, hold on a second, I have your yearbook."

She furrowed her brow as she stood beside him. It made sense for Finn to pass the book off to his brother. But she hadn't expected Kurt to write anything. They had been leading separate lives for a long time. She couldn't remember the last time they had shared a conversation, what would he have to say?

"It was kind of rushed, Brittany took _forever_, she was drawing you this picture so I didn't get as much time as I would have liked." He apologized, finally returning the book to its owner.

"You didn't have to do that." She said bashfully, feeling bad for not even thinking of writing in his yearbook.

"What? Of course I did." He replied.

"Do you mind if I read it now?" She asked.

"Go for it." He shrugged.

He returned to organizing his locker while she eagerly flicked through the book. She was impressed by how much writing had accumulated on the pages. How many people had this book been handed to between Santana and Kurt? She never imagined so many people would want to say goodbye to her. She used to walk down these halls feeling invisible. But she had made a respectable amount of friends.

Finally she found Kurt's page. All of his photos were posed for as if he were a model. She could imagine this page being copied for the world to see once he was famous. Then her eyes moved down to the passage he had written. She couldn't understand why he apologized for it being rushed, it was long enough to be featured in a book of its own.

'_the Grace to my Will. Mercedes Jones, I feel privileged to have watched you develop into a truly stunning woman…'_

She was left breathless by the opening sentences. Her mouth gaped open as she continued to read, feeling more amazed with each passing word.

Kurt hadn't forgotten about her at all. Reading this made her feel that no time had passed between them. She remembered what it was to spend every waking second of each day by his side. They had had a lot of great times together. Her mind set up another cheesy movie montage, this one was powerful enough to draw tears.

"Kurt, this is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me." She said. She quickly became aware of all of the other students still occupying the hall and so wiped beneath her eyes, sniffing back her full emotions.

"It's nothing." He dismissed.

"No, this is definitely not nothing. This is the exact opposite of nothing." She argued. "I'm going to treasure it for the rest of my life."

"I couldn't stand the thought of school ending without you knowing how I feel about you." He said. "You made this place seem less like a shark tank; you were the life preserver to keep me from being pulled under. I honestly don't know where I'd be without you and the glee club."

She flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his slender body. He reciprocated, hugging her tightly. She wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to hold the tears back. She memorized every contributing factor of this moment, from the smell of his expensive hair-styling cream to the soft woollen sweater he was wearing, so fuzzy beneath her fingers.

"I'm going to miss you so much." She confided.

"Me too." He replied, giving her a final squeeze before releasing her. She felt less embarrassed when she noted the new wetness in his eyes. "In case you didn't notice I added my phone number in the book there." He jabbed the yearbook, which was suddenly warm from having both their bodies pressed against it. "That isn't so you can message me once a year for my birthday. I want you to call me as soon as you find a place in L.A. I'll be on the next place out there to help you with the interior design."

"I couldn't think of anything more perfect." She agreed, beaming.

Mercedes clutched the reclaimed yearbook to her chest as she walked to her car. She held it tightly, handling it with great care. She felt the dedication had returned to her the piece of Kurt she had lost over the past two years. She could let all of that hurt go and keep only the good memories.

Whenever she felt lonely she would pull the book out and read the passage from Kurt.

**The End.**


End file.
